Respiratory News and Research

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Researchers discover how indoor mould makes people sick

For more than a decade, it has been known that the fungus Trichoderma longibrachiatum is the most common finding wherever people are suffering from health hazards related to damp building damage. However, it has not been known how this mould - which is typical of most buildings with indoor air problems - harms people's health. Published in September, a study by a team of researchers at the Department of Food and Environmental Sciences of the University of Helsinki explains how microbial metabolites in the living environment cause health problems

12 Oct 2012

Study compares two drug combinations for use as deep sedation during oral surgery

The ideal sedative for oral surgery should make the patient comfortable during the surgery and should wear off quickly enough that the patient can leave the dental chair soon after the procedure. Finding the best plan of anesthetic treatment is essential to the success of dental procedures such as the extraction of wisdom teeth.

12 Oct 2012

Early exposure to traffic-related air pollution affects respiratory health in children

Exposure to ambient air pollution from traffic during infancy is associated with lung function deficits in children up to eight years of age, particularly among children sensitized to common allergens, according to a new study.

12 Oct 2012

Alverix receives FDA 510(k) clearance for new BD Veritor System kit

Alverix, Inc., a world leader in the design and manufacture of next-generation platforms for diagnostic Point-of-Care (POC) testing, today announced that BD Diagnostics, a segment of Becton Dickinson and Company, a leading global medical technology company, received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nasopharyngeal wash, aspirate and swab in transport media specimens on the BD VeritorTM System for Rapid Detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

12 Oct 2012

Blocking leukotriene B4 might slow down eczema

More than 15% of children suffer with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory skin disease that in some cases can be debilitating and disfiguring. Researchers reporting in the October issue of Immunity have discovered a potential new target for the condition, demonstrating that by blocking it, they can lessen the disease in mice.

12 Oct 2012

Public reporting states have low angioplasty rates

US states in which public reporting of percutaneous coronary intervention rates by catheterization laboratories is required may have a reduced rate of the procedure in acute myocardial infarction patients, research suggests.

11 Oct 2012

Recommendations in pediatric palliative care

The future of pediatric and perinatal palliative care should include accepting parents’ need for proximity to the child, combining the strategies of palliative and intensive care physicians, improving healthcare providers’ listening skills, and involving multiple disciplines, recommend researchers.

11 Oct 2012

People living near livestock may be at increased risk of LA-MRSA

People who live near livestock or in livestock farming communities may be at greater risk of acquiring, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), according to a new study led by an international team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

11 Oct 2012

Safety tips to avoid common farm injuries

The hectic fall harvest is under way, and that means the dangers of everyday farm work -- one of the nation's most hazardous occupations -- are compounded by the rush to bring in crops on time. Many agricultural injuries can be prevented with basic safety equipment and mindfulness about the need for caution on the job, says emergency medicine physician Howard Schumaker, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic Health System in Sparta.

11 Oct 2012

Inhaled corticosteroids increase Staphylococcus pneumoniae infection risk

Regular use of inhaled corticosteroids by asthmatic children increases their risk for oropharyngeal colonization with Staphylococcus pneumoniae almost fourfold, research suggests.

10 Oct 2012

Decrease in doctor appointments, preventable hospital visits draw scrutiny

Medpage Today offers a pair of stories exploring Census findings regarding doctor visits in 2010 as well as MedPAC's interest in "preventable" hospital visits.

10 Oct 2012

Researchers discover mechanism by which magnesium reduces cytokine production

Magnesium sulfate is given to many pregnant women to treat preterm labor and preeclampsia and was recently shown to prevent cerebral palsy; however little is known about how it works. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine recently discovered the mechanism by which magnesium reduces the production of cytokines.

10 Oct 2012

QRxPharma, Paladin execute licensing agreement for MOXDUO

QRxPharma Limited announced today execution of a licensing agreement with Paladin Labs Inc. for the Canadian commercialisation rights to MOXDUO, a patented, immediate release formulation of morphine and oxycodone.

10 Oct 2012

CT technique could improve COPD classification

The parametric response map technique can be used in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to distinguish between disease subtypes, say US researchers.

9 Oct 2012

Early communication strategies improve end of liver transplant patients’ lives

A multidisciplinary communication intervention involving physicians and family members of liver transplant patients treated in surgical intensive care units can improve end-of-life care, show study results.

9 Oct 2012

Navigating the Labyrinth of Traumatic Brain Injury to Discover a Secondary Neurological Condition

Working with individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) every day, I see the debilitating effects and long-term struggles firsthand.

9 Oct 2012

T2R38 taste receptor regulates immune defense of the human upper airway

The immune system protects the upper respiratory tract from bacterial infections, but the cues that alert the immune system to the presence of bacteria are not known. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Noam Cohen at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated that the bitter taste receptor T2R38 regulates the immune defense of the human upper airway.

9 Oct 2012